Thieves make off with 20,000 litres of maple syrup from Montreal storage depot

Police in Quebec have another maple syrup heist on their hands.

First, there was the Great Maple Syrup Heist of 2011-2012, in which $18 million worth of the sweet sap went missing.

Then, earlier this week, thieves made off with 20,000 litres of Quebec's sweetest export, worth an estimated $150,000, from a storage facility near Montreal's Trudeau airport in Dorval.

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Alfredo Monaco, a vice-president at Mexuscan Cargo, said the thieves broke into the warehouse and stole a shipping container loaded with 20 pallets of Kirkland brand one-litre bottles of syrup.

The syrup was destined for the Japanese market.

The company is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the syrup's recovery.

He said the "margins are thin" in the shipping business, and the theft has hurt the company's bottom line.

Monaco believes it will be difficult for thieves to unload the syrup because Kirkland is Costco's house brand.

A challenge for the industry

While this isn't the first time a syrup heist has made headlines, Caroline Cyr, a spokeswoman for the Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers, said such thefts are rare.

Nevertheless, she said it's a challenge when it happens.

"It's not fun to learn about that, because a lot of producers have [contributed]," she said.

"And for someone to just steal it? For sure it's not a good news."

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